Who's the Better Slayer
by Nitrowugs
Summary: Willow is a slayer. Giles rejects Buffy and takes Willow for his slayer. Warnings: Giles, Willow and Xander are bad guys in this story; they are shown very much out of character and they meet very sad ends. If this offends you, you might not want to read this story.
1. Chapter 1

**Note**: Several years ago I started reading a fic in which Willow became a slayer and Giles rejected Buffy and took Willow as his slayer. I don't remember the title or the author of that story and I have not been able to find it again. This is all I remember from the story since I did not finish reading it. What I remember reading was very good; that is what gave me the idea to write this fic. I don't know how close to (or far from) the original story this one is. I hope this does not offend the author of the original story.

**Who's The Better Slayer?**

Author: Nitrowugs

Rating: PG

Pairings: None early, eventually B/A, C/We, Fr/Gu, hint of T/S

Feedback: Please. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with BtVS and AtS. (Characters, plots and dialogue from the shows are borrowed with no infringement intent whatsoever.)

Distribution: Please ask and let me know where it's going.

Written: 09/03/2010

Summary: Willow is a slayer. Giles rejects Buffy. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Warning 1: Giles, Willow and Xander are the bad guys in this story; they are shown very much out of character and meet very unhappy ends. If this offends you, you might not want to read this story.

Warning 2: Major character deaths

A/N1: This story is strictly AU. I have greatly altered events and time lines from the original shows. Seasons 1 through 5 of BtVS happened except that Faith didn't come out of her coma until season 5 and just in time to join the fight against Glori.

A/N 2: Thoughts are in single quotes ('').

Chapter 1

Part 1

Glori had been defeated and all of the Scoobies, including Spike, had survived. What had surprised everyone, including Buffy, was that it had been Faith who had defeated Glori while Buffy was saving Dawn from Doc. Faith came out of her coma with initial intentions to get revenge on Buffy for putting her there. Once she saw the situation in Sunnydale her slayer instincts kicked in and she joined the fight against Glori. Everyone was suspicious of her at first, including Giles, but Buffy convinced the others to give her a chance. Buffy's support broke the ice between Faith and herself and between Faith and the rest of the group, everyone in the group except Willow, that is.

'Why couldn't she just stay in her coma or die for that matter? We don't need her here; we can fight Glori without her.'

Of course Willow did not voice her thoughts to anyone, but it was obvious to anyone who looked close enough that she was not happy with Faith's presence in the group. Buffy noticed and just assumed that Willow was still mad at Faith because of the incidence with the mayor when Faith had tried to kill Willow and she hoped that the negative feelings would soon blow over. She would speak with Willow about it after the fight with Glori was over, but before the fight everybody's energy was focused on preparing for a life or death confrontation with a hell god.

Part 2

Tonight they were at the Bronze celebrating their victory; even Giles was there. Willow noticed Faith and Tara talking and without preamble, she grabbed Tara by the hand with a glare in Faith's direction and said, "Let's dance" as she pulled Tara toward the dance floor. Faith was left standing there wondering what she had done to piss Willow off.

Faith walked over to the table where the others were sitting. Almost immediately Xander grabbed Anya by the arm and led her to the dance floor leaving Faith alone with Buffy and Giles. She couldn't stand it any longer so she asked, "Is Willow pissed at me for some reason?"

Buffy started to speak, "Well, I think…" but before she could finish her thought Giles interrupted her with

"You should be able to understand why Willow would find it difficult to just forgive and forget when someone has held a knife to your throat and threatened to kill you. I can certainly understand it myself." He turned and looked directly at Buffy when he made that last statement, intentionally reminding her of his torture at the hands of Angelus. He did so, it seemed to Buffy, every chance he got.

Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya returned to the table just as Buffy responded to her watcher. "Giles, how many more ways can Faith apologize for her actions last year? And Angel's soul has been returned and he has left Sunnydale. What more do you want?"

"_I want him dead," _Giles roared with a viciousness that startled everyone at the table.

"That works for me as well," Willow said glaring pointedly at Faith.

Barely able to speak, Buffy looked at her Watcher and her best friend. "Giles, Willow, what is happening here? I thought we had put all of this behind us."

"No, Buffy," Willow shot back, "you put it behind you because it didn't happen to you. Nothing like this has happened to you, so you can't understand how we feel."

"Nothing like this has happened to me?" Buffy asked incredulously. "Do you remember the master, or the order of Taraka, or Angelus for that matter? Have you any idea what I face every night?"

"You're the slayer, Buffy," Giles said condescendingly, "you're supposed to face danger every night. Your job is to protect the innocent and I must say, in these two instances you did not do your job very well."

Buffy stood there with her mouth open; she was so surprised at Giles' words. 'Is that how Giles sees me, as just a weapon, a body guard?'

Before she could reply, Faith spoke up. "Let it go, B. Giles has already told me that he is sending me to Cleveland, I guess to get me out of everybody's hair."

Just as Faith finished speaking, a group of vampires entered the Bronze and started attacking the nearest humans they could get their hands on. Willow screamed as one grabbed Tara from behind and bit into her neck. Seeing this Faith went into action as Buffy fought the vamps attacking from the other side. Faith managed to stake the vamp that was attacking Tara and as he turned to dust she went off to fight others. What she didn't see was that as the vamp turned to dust, Tara fell forward hitting her head on the table before anyone could catch her.

When the fighting was done Buffy and Faith looked around to see if everyone was all right. It was then that they noticed a crowd around their table. Buffy had a sinking feeling as she pushed her way through the crowd to get to her friends.

She heard Willow wailing as she got closer. Willow was holding Tara and rocking her in her arms.

"Is she all right? What happened?" Buffy asked.

No one answered her.

At that moment Faith pushed her way through the crowd. "B, what's happened? Who's hurt?"

Hearing Faith's voice, Willow looked up and yelled at her. "You did this. You killed her. You killed Tara."

"What? No I didn't. I staked the vamp that was feeding off her. He couldn't have taken enough of her blood to kill her."

Xander spoke up. "It wasn't the vampire that killed her. When you dusted him she struck her head on the table as she fell forward. You didn't even look back to see what happened to her."

"What was I supposed to do, let that vampire continue to feed off her?"

Before anyone answered her, Giles said, "Faith, Buffy, get out of here. Go patrol or whatever you do at night. We will handle things here." With that he turned his back to them effectively dismissing them.

Buffy stood there staring at his back until Faith put her hand on her shoulder and said, "Come on, B, let's patrol." When Buffy didn't move Faith took her by the arm and pulled her from the club.

Part 3

Neither of the slayers spoke while they patrolled, each lost in her own thoughts. As they approached Revello Drive Faith said, "B, I don't know what is going on, but I don't think it is a good idea for me to sleep at your house anymore. I'm sure Willow would rather not have me there. I'll just stay at the apartment for a while."

"This wasn't your fault, you know that, right?"

Faith nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Buffy continued up Revello Drive and Faith turned to go to the apartment that the mayor had gotten for her. Neither slayer saw Willow as she turned to follow Faith.

'Nearly everything is in place. Day after tomorrow there'll be a new slayer in town. Me. Then we'll just sit back and watch the feathers fly. So that's where she lives. Nice place. Too bad she won't be needing it much longer. Faith had just better be glad that Tara is going to be alright. If she had really been dead, by the time I got through with Faith, Angelus' torture exploits would seem like child's play. I'm so glad I figured out how to get into Giles' private books that he keeps under lock and key. There is so much good information in them. It's like a witch's gold mine.'

Justifications for her deadly plan were already forming in Willow's mind. 'I should have done this long ago, when she first showed up in Sunnydale. Even then she tried to take Buffy away from me. Buffy was my friend, not hers; how could she side with Faith against us. Now that I have Giles eating out of my hands, I don't need Buffy's friendship. I'll just have to find a way to get rid of her as well.'

Part 4

When Buffy arrived home the first thing she did was check to see if Willow was asleep. She was surprised to find that Willow was not in her room, she was not even in the house. 'She must be with Giles. She probably needed someone after losing Tara and I wasn't there for her. What kind of friend am I? I'll call Giles to see if she is there.'

She could tell that Giles was irritated when he answered the phone. "What is it, Buffy?"

"Is that the way you always answer the phone, Giles, or is it just me that irritates you so much?" Continuing on before Giles had time to answer, she said, "I was looking for Willow. She wasn't here when I got back from patrol."

"Maybe she just needed to put some distance between herself and Faith. She's probably at Xander's apartment. However I don't suggest you call him at this ungodly hour; some of us have to work tomorrow." The next thing Buffy heard was the receiver being slammed down followed by a very annoying dial tone.

'What is wrong with Giles? He is acting so unlike himself these days, I wonder…'

Before she could finish the thought, she heard the front door open. She got halfway down the stairs just as Willow started up.

"Will."

Willow looked up at her. "Hello, Buffy," she said coldly and continued up the stairs past her.

Buffy reached out and touched Willow's arm. "Will, I am so sorry about Tara. I should have been there for you tonight, but Giles told Faith and me to leave."

"I know. I heard."

She caught up with Willow at the top of the stairs and put her arms around her. "Will please don't shut me out. I love you. Let me be there for you the way you were there for me when Mom died."

Willow looked at Buffy and her face softened. She saw real compassion in Buffy's eyes. "Oh. Oh you don't know. Tara wasn't dead; she was just unconscious. She woke up in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. She's going to be all right."

Buffy hugged her friend again. "Oh, Will, that's wonderful. We have to let Faith know. She still thinks Tara is dead."

'Is that bitch always the first thing she thinks about? What about me?'

Aloud Willow's words did not betray her thoughts. "I'll stop by her place tomorrow and tell her. It's on the way to the hospital. I'll apologize to her too."

"She'll be relieved to hear that. We've all been under a lot of stress lately. I'm just glad that Tara is going to be all right."

"Me too, Buffy. Good night." 'She'll be relieved all right. She'll be relieved of her life tomorrow night if I have anything to say about it.' Willow's thoughts were cold and vindictive as she closed the door to her bedroom. 'Let the bitch enjoy tonight. It'll be her last.'

Part 5

The next morning Willow smelled food when she reached the top of the stairs. As she approached the kitchen she heard Buffy singing. "You're in a good mood this morning."

"Oh, Will, good morning. I am in a good mood. My best friend's girl friend is going to be all right and my sister slayer is not going to be charged with murder. Come on in, I made breakfast for us."

Willow hid well her distaste when Buffy mentioned Faith. "Smells good. What're we having?"

The girls ate breakfast in seemingly companionable ease, but Willow was boiling inside. 'One more day and the rules will change drastically,' she thought to herself.

"Will, why don't you drop me off at work and keep the car for the day? That way you will be able to spend more time with Tara and will have a car in case she gets released from the hospital today."

"Thanks, Buffy, that's sweet of you. You go upstairs and get ready to go while I clean up the kitchen. I'll be ready when you are."

"Thanks, Will, you're the best."

"I know." Willow said with an evil sneer that Buffy did not see.

"I'll call you to find out if Tara is being released today. Give her my love and tell her I'll see her later today," Buffy said as she got out of the car.

"Okay. I'll talk to you soon," Willow said and pulled the car away from the curb.

Things were turning out better than she had planned. She drove directly to a warehouse that had once been occupied by Spike and Drusilla. She knew that some of Spike's minions still nested there.

After putting a repel spell on herself she walked boldly into the warehouse leaving the door open so that she would be bathed in sunlight and the resident vampires could not reach her. "Wakey, wakey sleepyheads," she said as the vampires came awake. "Hello, boys, I have a little proposition for you and I think you're going to like it a lot."

"Why should we deal with you, witch?" asked one of the vamps, "You're a friend of the slayers."

"Things change. What would you say if I told you that tonight I would deliver a slayer to you weakened and almost completely helpless?"

"A helpless slayer at our mercy? What's in this for you, witch?"

"Just make sure that you tell her that Willow sends her regards."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Oh, and you keep your mouth shut about this. When you're done with her, take the body to her apartment and leave it there; here's the address." She stuck a Post-it note with Faith's address on it on the wall near the door. "There is no attendant on the door between three and five in the morning and since she'll already be dead, you should have no problem getting in. She should have her key on her when she arrives here tonight."

"You've thought this thing through, haven't you? All right, it's a deal."

"She'll be here at 10 o'clock tonight. Enjoy."

Willow hopped into the car and sped toward Sunnydale General Hospital.

Part 6

At nine o'clock that night just as she expected Faith to be leaving for patrol, she parked the car in front of Faith's apartment building and walked inside. She identified herself as Faith's friend and asked for the apartment number after whispering a quick 'forget me' spell on the attendant. 'Apartment 4B. Must be nice.'

Faith was surprised when she opened the door. Willow was the last person she expected to see, but she invited her in anyway. She started to apologize for Tara when she was interrupted.

"Tara was just knocked out. She's in the hospital, but she's going to be fine. That's what I came by to tell you and to apologize for my behavior. I know that I've treated you terribly and I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Willow. I can understand why you would hate me. I'm just glad that your friend is going to be all right."

"So am I. Look, I'm on my way to the hospital now to see Tara. The rest of the gang is already there. Do you want to come? I have Buffy's car." Willow said with a smile on her face that did not reach her eyes.

"Sure. Thanks."

As soon as they were in the car and on the way to the hospital, Willow reached over and touched Faith's hand and quickly whispered the words of a spell that put Faith completely under her control; Faith could not move, her mind was blank and she stared straight ahead.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I have to make a little detour before I go to the hospital?" Willow said snickering to herself; she knew full well that Faith could not reply to her. She pulled onto a side street and parked the car in a wooded area a few yard away from a clearing where she had set up her ritual. She opened the door on the passenger's side, pulled Faith out of the car and ordered her to follow. Faith had no will of her own and was forced to follow.

She commanded Faith to stand in the center of the circle of stones that she had set up earlier. Then she stepped into the circle. She called upon her strongest magic as she pulled Faith's slayer strength into herself leaving Faith weakened and barely able to stand.

"Return to the car," she ordered and Faith moved slowly toward the car, dragging her feet as she went. Willow drove once again to the warehouse. "Get out of the car and go into that building," she again ordered and again Faith did as she was told.

Willow waited until she heard vampire grunts and roars coming from the warehouse. She drove away with a smile of self satisfaction on her face.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Who's The Better Slayer?

Author: Nitrowugs

Chapter 2

Part 1

When Willow got to Tara's hospital room, Xander asked, "Where's Faith?"

"I don't know," Willow lied, "she didn't answer her door. I assume she left for patrol before I got there."

An hour later Buffy got up to leave. "I'd better go; I have to patrol my half of Sunnydale. Good night all." She gave Tara a hug. "I'll see you at your dorm tomorrow night, Tara."

When she reached the place where she and Faith usually met up after each had covered her half of the city, Buffy was surprised to find that Faith was not there. I hope she didn't run into trouble; I'd better check her part of the patrol route. Still not finding her, Buffy assumed Faith had decided to go clubbing without telling her as she had many times before, so she went home and straight to bed assuming that all was well.

Willow's bedroom door was still closed when Buffy passed by the next morning so she left and went on about her normal work day.

Half an hour later after practicing her routine Willow called Giles. "Giles, have you heard from Faith? You'd better get over here right away."

Fifteen minutes later Giles was knocking on the door at 1630 Revello Drive. When Willow answered the door a frantic Giles asked, "Willow what on earth has happened? What is the emergency?"

"Giles I woke up this morning feeling really strong and powerful. Giles I think I am a slayer. Has anyone heard from Faith since yesterday?"

Giles stood there speechless for a few moments, then he grabbed Willow and hugged her. "Oh dear lord, Willow, this is a miracle, a dream come true."

Willow pretended to be concerned about Faith. "Giles, what about Faith; where is she? We have to find her. We have to call Buffy."

Giles dialed Buffy's number at work and when she answered the phone he simply said, "Buffy, something has happened; you need to get home as quickly as possible." He hung up the phone before she could ask what had happened.

Buffy's first thought was that something had happened to Dawn who was spending the summer in Spain with their father. She broke every speed limit between her place of employment and her house.

When she rushed through the door she was greeted with, "Where is Faith? Did you see her on patrol last night?"

"No, Giles, I didn't. She wasn't at our usual meeting place so I checked her patrol route and when I didn't find her, I just assumed that she decided to go clubbing. She does that a lot without telling me. What is going on?"

"It seems that Willow was called last night. She's a slayer."

Buffy was jubilant at first; she grabbed Willow and hugged her. Then it dawned on her what that meant. "Oh gods no. Faith. We have to find her. Has anybody checked her apartment?"

"Shouldn't we check her patrol route? Maybe she went back after she left the club." The concern in Willow's voice seemed genuine.

"I didn't get home until almost four in the morning and she was not there then. The Bronze and all of the bars are closed by three. Let's check her apartment first; maybe she took someone home with her. If she's not there, then we'll go through the cemeteries."

"All right, let's go. Willow, you can ride with me," Giles said, completely ignoring Buffy.

When they reached the attendant's desk in Faith's building, Giles spoke. "We're here to see Miss LeHane. Is she in?"

The attendant checked his log. "The log shows that she checked in night before last and there is nothing here that says she has been in or out since then."

"Well she was here yesterday morning when I came by. You told me that her apartment number was 4B and said it was okay for me to go up to see her. Are you saying you don't remember?"

"Yes, I remember you," the attendant lied thinking he would get into trouble if he said he didn't remember. "I'm saying Miss LeHane hasn't signed in or out since the night before you were here."

"I'm her guardian and we're afraid something might have happened to her. We need to see her apartment," Giles said with a voice of authority.

"Yeah, okay." He called his assistant and told him to show them up to Faith's apartment.

When they reached the apartment the first thing the assistant attendant noticed was that the door was not locked. As he pushed open the door it hit something. He looked around the door and saw Faith's body.

"Call the police," Giles commanded.

Part 2

An autopsy revealed that Faith had been severely beaten and her body had been completely drained of blood. There were vampire bites, scratch marks and bruises all over her body and since she had no relatives that anyone knew about, the police suggested that the body be cremated. Giles did not disagree.

Regarding an investigation into Faith's death, the police would only say that she appeared to have been attacked by wild animals and then delivered to her apartment by some sick human being, probably the owner of the animals that attacked her. When Buffy asked, they offered no explanation for how the animal owner could have known where Faith lived and they closed the case immediately.

A brief memorial service was held for her attended by Giles, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara and Spike. Only Buffy spoke and only Buffy and Tara shed tears.

When Buffy spoke with Spike, she got the distinct impression that he knew more than he was saying, but he insisted that he didn't. When she spoke to Willy he assured her that he had not heard anything about an attack on the slayer. She believed him.

Part 3

For whatever reason Giles did not contact the Watchers' Council regarding Faith's death and no one questioned the fact that Willow had been called.

Actually a new slayer was called and was currently in the Orient. Since Giles had been fired by Quentin Travers and Buffy had quit the council, Mr. Travers saw no reason to contact Giles regarding the new slayer.

At first Buffy was happy that Willow was a slayer. She felt that together they could clean up Sunnydale and permanently close the hell mouth, but Giles and Willow had other ideas. When Buffy suggested that she and Willow could train together or she could take Willow with her on patrol, both Willow and Giles turned her down flat.

Willow's scathing reply to Buffy was a flat "No way.

"I always knew that I would make a better slayer than you are. I'm stronger than you. I'm smarter than you. And I have my magic. How can you help me?"

Buffy was stunned. "Willow?"

"It's true, Buffy. You're not needed here anymore. Oh, and don't bother running to LA. Angel doesn't want you anymore either. It seems that your vampire lover has replaced you with Cordelia of all people. (He He He). What does that say about your market value?"

Giles interrupted them before things got further out of hand. "Buffy, you should patrol. We will talk tomorrow. I need to speak with Willow."

He waited until Buffy closed the door before he turned to Willow. "I am taking you as my slayer. I will make you the greatest slayer to ever live, far surpassing Buffy. Since she really doesn't need a watcher anymore, I am sending her to Cleveland to get her out of the way. You should move in here until we can find a suitable place of your own. While Buffy is on patrol, we'll get your things so that you will be moved out of her house before she returns home tonight."

Willow gave him a wicked grin. "Giles you are a watcher after my own heart; and don't worry, in no time at all you will barely remember Buffy's name."

Part 4

Buffy left the Magic Box without saying another word. 'Something is not right here. Being a slayer has gone to Willow's head and since Faith's death Giles treats me like I'm in the way. Why didn't he tell the Watchers' Council that Willow had been called? As far as we know, other than the vamps that killed her, she was the last person to see Faith alive. Is Willow capable of setting Faith up to be killed by vampires? ...'

Before she could finish her musings she saw two vampires approaching.

"Hey, slayer, long time no see. Looks like you're next on the menu," one of the vamps said with an evil grin as his partner attempted to circle around behind the slayer. Buffy dusted his partner quickly and started to pummel the vamp that had spoken.

"What do you know about the death of the other slayer? Talk or you're dust."

"All right, all right, I'll tell you, but you can't say anything to the witch."

"Talk."

"Your friend, the witch, set the whole thing up."

"I don't believe you."

"Why would I lie, slayer? What would I gain by lying?"

"Go on."

"She came to us one morning; said she had a little proposition for us and she knew we were going to like it a lot. She laid the whole thing out. She would deliver a weakened slayer to us at 10 o'clock that night. All we had to do was take the body to the slayer's apartment. She gave us the slayer's address, told us what time the doorman wouldn't be there and that the slayer would have the key on her. How would I know all of this if I'm not telling the truth?"

Buffy considered what the vamp had said. She knew he was telling the truth. Then an idea hit her. "What did Spike have to do with this?"

"Spike? Nothing. The witch told us not to tell anybody and we didn't. I know he's our sire, but we didn't tell him, honest."

Buffy thought about what she should do. She groped the stake in her hand.

The vamp's eyes widened in fear. "You said if I told you everything you wouldn't dust me."

"All right; go. You and your friends get out of Sunnydale. If I see you again, you're dust."

The vamp took off running.

'He said that Spike was his sire; that means that they are probably still holed up in that old warehouse. I'll hit it just before dawn, but first I need to have a little chat with Spike.'

Buffy entered Spike's crypt without knocking and found him watching television.

"Can't you at least knock, slayer?"

"Tell me what you know about Faith's death."

"Haven't we been over this? I told you, I don't know anything."

"Then tell me what you suspect."

By the tone of her voice Spike could tell that Buffy was dead serious. "All right. I sneaked into the morgue to see Faith's body before they cremated her. I recognized some of the bite marks. Some of them were from a couple of vamps that I sired."

"And why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I don't know. It was kind of a loyalty thing I guess."

"Loyalty among demons? Yeah right." Buffy left slamming the door.

"I don't know why I tried to protect them; 's not like they let me in on the kill," Spike grumbled to himself.

After she finished her patrol Buffy went to the warehouse where she was sure Spike's minions were staying. She found a suitable lookout on the rooftop of a nearby building and waited. Sure enough as she expected vamps approached the warehouse. They had obviously been hunting and were drowsy and needing sleep. Three shots from her crossbow and they were dust.

Fifteen minutes later two others approached including the vamp that had told her about the part Willow played in Faith's death. She dusted the second one and waited until the informant could see her before she delivered the arrow that dusted him. She waited until it was completely light but no more vampires appeared. She crept into the warehouse to make sure, but it was completely empty.

'We got the vamps, Faith, now what do we do about Willow?' Buffy knew that she had to talk to Giles and postponing the inevitable would only make it worse. She went home to get a few hours of sleep.

Part 5

At eight thirty that morning Buffy knocked on Giles' door. He answered the door in what was becoming his usual annoyed tone when speaking to her. "What are you doing here, Buffy?"

"I need to speak with you Giles. I learned some very disturbing information last night," she said as Giles stepped aside and let her into his house. "Where is Willow?"

"Willow is at the magic shop, training; she is very dedicated to learning her craft." The implication was obvious, but Buffy let it slide. She had more important things to talk about. She also was not aware that Xander was standing in the kitchen listening.

She tried to tell Giles what she learned from the informant and from Spike, but she was interrupted by an irate Xander who called her a lying jealous bitch. Giles agreed with Xander and told her that Willow was incapable of what she was suggesting.

"Willow is everything I ever wanted my slayer to be; you on the other hand have been nothing but a headache and a disappointment since you came here.

"I am not your watcher any longer. I am Willow's watcher now and I want you out of Sunnydale. There is another hell mouth in Cleveland. As of this moment that is your assignment. I will be notifying the Council immediately of your relocation. I suggest that you not dawdle. If they do not find you performing your sacred duty in Cleveland, I can assure you that a Council Elimination Squad will be after you within two hours after you are reported missing."

Giles' face twisted in a vicious sneer as he escorted her to the door.

"Giles, why are you doing this?"

"Goodbye, Buffy. I would say good luck, but I'm sure you won't need it," he said as he slammed the door in her face.

Part 6

Buffy couldn't stop the tears as they cascaded down her face. She sat in her car and sobbed; her eyes were so blinded by tears that she couldn't find the car's ignition. Once she had herself under control, she drove home.

'I may be down, but I am not out; not yet anyway. My watcher and my friends may have deserted me, but I won't let them break me.'

As she packed her things to take to Cleveland, she formulated a plan in her mind. She didn't need to write it down; she knew exactly what she was going to do. She contacted her travel club and told them where she was going, what she needed and when she needed it. Within two hours the information was faxed to her.

She contacted the garage where she had her car serviced. The owner had been trying to get her to sell him her mother's old car and had offered her a decent price for it. She had been keeping the car for sentimental reasons, but now she needed the money. Another two hours and she had sold him the car and transferred ownership and plates. 'Who says that DMV doesn't come through in a pinch?'

Online Buffy opened a checking account at a Cleveland bank and transferred into it the money she had in her checking and savings accounts in Sunnydale, what little money there was. Once she saw that the money had been transferred, she closed her Sunnydale accounts. She also entered a change of address authorization online for mail for herself and Dawn. She used general deliveries at a post office located in the same zip code as the hell mouth in Cleveland. That should work until she could get a permanent address. 'Wow, the things you can do online.'

She contacted a realtor who jumped at the chance to sell her house and all of its contents. She had long ago taken care of her mother's personal belongings, now all she had to do was get her mother's artwork to her father's house in LA. There wasn't much, but the pieces that were left had been important to her mother and she didn't want to lose them. She rented a small van to transport what she needed to LA.

Buffy made plane reservations for the trip from LA to Cleveland for the next morning leaving herself enough time to make the drive to LA and to store her mother's art. This would be the last night that she patrolled in Sunnydale and the last night that she spent in her house at 1630 Revello Drive.

She contacted her place of employment and resigned her position. She told them she would call them with an address for them to forward her last pay check once she found a place to live in Cleveland.

Her last action was to contact her father in Spain and explain the situation to him and the fact that Dawn would have to stay with him longer than expected until she got settled in Cleveland. He told her that he and Dawn had discussed the possibility of her staying with him in Spain on a permanent basis and Dawn liked the idea, but she didn't want to leave Buffy alone. Buffy was going to miss her sister, but she knew that this was the best alternative for Dawn.

Hank really came through for Buffy as well. When he found out what little money she had, including what she got for the car, he voluntarily wired money into her Cleveland account with a promise that he would send money every couple of weeks until she could get on her feet. She knew that she had her sister to thank for that; there was no doubt in her mind that Dawn had told their father all about her being the slayer.

Part 7

Through her travel club Buffy had reserved a room for a week in a decent hotel in Cleveland and she had maps of the city. 'This hotel is kind of pricey, but hopefully I'll only be here a week. I should be able to find a small apartment by then.'

After getting settled at the hotel Buffy reviewed the maps of the city, noting all of the cemeteries, night clubs and bars, any place where people were likely to gather after dark. Cleveland didn't have anywhere near as many cemeteries as Sunnydale and it was a much larger city. It did however have many more bars and night clubs. She mapped out a tentative patrol route, went out to get something to eat and walked around the city briefly before returning to the hotel.

Mid-morning the next day Buffy was ready for her next important step. She had to call Angel Investigations and speak with Wesley. She specifically chose this time of day because Angel would be asleep and the mere thought of hearing his voice brought such pain to her heart; she felt that she could not take any more right now, not after the pain that her watcher and friends in Sunnydale had caused.

Cordelia answered the phone with "Angel Investigations, we help the helpless. How can we help you?"

"Hey, Cordy, it's Buffy. How are you?"

"Good, Buffy, what's up? Are you calling for Angel? 'Cause if you are, he's sleeping this time of day."

"Actually, I'm calling to speak to Wesley. Is he there?"

"Sure, hold on, I'll transfer you to his office."

Buffy and Wesley spoke for over an hour, and she was more than relieved when he had readily agreed to join her in Cleveland as her watcher.

"It won't take me more than a couple of days to close up my apartment here and join you in Cleveland. I need to pack up my books and weapons and have them ready so that when we find a permanent residence they can be sent to me. Buffy, I suggest that you not try to patrol before I get there. We don't know anything about the city and I think it would be wise to wait. You have my cell phone number; call me at any time day or night. I'll see you in a couple of days. Take care, Buffy."

When she hung up the phone after speaking with Wesley, Buffy felt better, lighter than she had in many months, since before her mother got sick, before Dawn showed up. 'With Wesley as my watcher, maybe I can succeed in Cleveland after all.'

Part 8

True to his word Wesley arrived at Buffy's hotel room two days after they spoke on the phone.

"I reserved a room in this hotel for you for the rest of the week. Your room is right across the hall; here's your key. Why don't you get settled and we'll talk. There are still some things that I need to tell you."

An hour later Wesley and Buffy were sitting in the lounge area of her hotel room. She had just finished telling him about the events that led up to her being sent to Cleveland starting with the way Willow had treated Faith when Faith was first released from the hospital.

"We have to contact the Watchers' Council, Buffy. Now."

Buffy started to protest, but Wesley said, "It's the right thing to do."

Wesley was quiet after he hung up the phone from speaking with Quentin Travers.

Buffy started to get worried. "Wesley what did Travers say?"

"He said that they know nothing about Miss Rosenberg being a slayer and that it's true a new slayer was called that night but she is in the Orient. Since they no longer get reports from Mr. Giles, they had just assumed that Faith had died without ever coming out of her coma. He also said that we should not say anything to Mr. Giles about what we know."

The mention of Giles' name brought tears to her eyes and before she could stop herself she was sobbing in Wesley's arms.

"It's all right, Buffy," he soothed, "I don't know what happened to Mr. Giles either, but together you and I are going to clean up Cleveland and permanently seal the hell mouth and we are going to do it with the support of the Council. Mr. Travers assured me that we have the Council's support anytime we need it."

"It just hurts so much; the things that he said to me were so hurtful, things that I never expected to hear him say to anybody. He knows how much I love him; he has been the father figure that I never had ever since he became my watcher.

"Sure I complained about some of the stuff he had me do, but I still did it; not because he was my watcher, but because he was Giles. I trained, I patrolled; I can count on one hand the number of nights that I did not patrol and that includes the nights that I spent in the hospital. I just don't know why he would turn on me like he did."

"Buffy, I'm going to ask you something. I know that you have thought of it and just don't want to consider it a possibility." Wesley hesitated then continued. "Do you think that Miss Rosenberg could have put a spell on Mr. Giles without his knowledge to make him reject you?"

"I suppose it's possible; Willow has become a very powerful witch. I didn't want to believe that she had anything to do with Faith's death either, but now … "

Her voice trailed off. Even though she had told Wesley everything that happened in Sunnydale, she was still not able to accept what the evidence pointed to regarding someone she had considered her best friend.

"Well, enough of that for now."

Buffy smiled briefly. Wesley was back in watcher mode.

"One more thing," Wesley said, "I am being reinstated as watcher at full salary including living expenses for you and we have been given permission to use the Council residence here in Cleveland. I haven't seen it yet, but it should be suitable for the two of us with space for a training room and a library. We should have access in a couple of days."

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Who's The Better Slayer?

Author: Nitrowugs

Chapter 3

Part 1

In Sunnydale

Giles was anxious to get started; Willow would be his masterpiece. He put together a training schedule for her and gave her some books to read. At first she kept up with the reading and more or less the training schedule. He was more than pleased to learn that her strength exceeded what he expected of a new slayer; however, other things like lung capacity and endurance were far below par. When he insisted on training practices that would help her improve in those areas, Willow balked.

"I don't need to do all of this training. You said yourself I am far stronger than a newbie slayer, besides I have my magic to ba.."

Giles was furious. "I don't want you relying on magic to fight vampires. Spells fail and it might happen when you need it most and could cost you your life."

Willow turned to leave the training room.

"Where are you going?" Giles questioned. "We're not finished."

"I'm finished," Willow answered defiantly, "and I'm going to patrol. Let's go, Xander."

Xander followed without a word and Giles stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"Why does she have to take Xander with her every time?" Anya complained. "Buffy never did. He comes home later and later at night and is too tired to do anything but sleep; he's even getting reprimands at work because he is not keeping up. What is going on Giles? You should send Willow to Cleveland. We need Buffy back."

"That's absurd, Anya. And never let Willow hear you say anything like that."

"Things were much better when Buffy was here; you've heard about all of the recent deaths. The vampires are getting bolder. It wouldn't surprise me if they walked in off the street and killed us all. Why don't you just admit that you made a mistake sending Buffy away?"

"Anya, do shut up," Giles snapped as his frustration level continued to rise.

Part 2

Tara was angry. "Do you think I'm stupid, Willow? I know you used that spell on me."

Willow tried to apologize, but Tara didn't want to hear it.

"Don't. Just don't, okay. There is nothing you can say to make this situation better. You violated my mind. How could you, Willow? How could you after what Glory did to me?"

"I didn't ... mean anything like that, I-I, I just wanted us not to fight any more. I love you."

"If you don't want to fight, you don't fight. You don't use magic to make a fight disappear."

"But I just wanted to make things better, better for us."

"But you don't get to decide what is better for us, Will. We're in a relationship; we are supposed to decide together."

"Okay. I realize I did it wrong."

"You did it the way you're doing everything. When things get rough, you ... you don't even consider the options. You just ... you just do a spell. It's not good for you, Willow. And it's not what magic is for."

"But I just want to help people."

"Maybe that's how it started, but ... you're helping yourself now, fixing things to your liking. Including me."

"Tara, no!"

"This is too much. You and I are not going to work. Even before this I have tried to get you to see the danger in what you are doing and you will not listen. Magic must be respected. People must be respected. You can't just use magic to make people behave the way you want them to.

"I can't stay here and watch you destroy yourself and possibly others because you are misusing magic; I'm leaving. Don't bother trying to use your magic on me again, I have protected myself from another attack by you; and don't bother trying to find me, that won't work either. Goodbye, Willow."

"Tara, wait."

Tara stopped, but did not turn around.

"I did what I did because I was trying to make things better for us. If you can't accept that, then go. I don't need you. I'm a slayer. I don't need any of you."

Tara walked out of the door without looking back.

Part 3

On patrol one night Willow released a fire ball at a vampire before its full head cleared the grave, dusting it with practically no effort.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," she said triumphantly. "That's enough for tonight; let's go to the Bronze," she told Xander.

"This is just the third cemetery, Will, what about the rest of them?"

"This is the only suspicious death that I found in the papers; now do you want to go to the Bronze or not?"

"Not tonight, Will, I have to work tomorrow; I need to get home and get some sleep."

"What's the matter, Xander, Anya still complaining about not enough sex?"

"Leave Anya out of this. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Fine. Go home. I'm going to the club."

"Aren't you going to walk me home?"

"What's the matter, Xander, you afraid to walk home by yourself at night?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah. There've been a lot of new deaths in Sunnydale over the past few months and I don't want to be the next one."

Willow pointed her hand at Xander and zapped him with magic.

"What did you do to me, Will?"

"Now you're safe to walk home by yourself. Vampires won't even know you're there," she said dismissively as she stalked off in the opposite direction.

'It feels like we have Faith all over again,' Xander grumbled as he headed for home.

Part 4

In Cleveland

Fall came quickly and Buffy and Wesley were not accustomed to the cold Cleveland weather. Winter in Cleveland was a revelation – bitter cold and so much snow; in fact Buffy had only seen snow once in her life. Fortunately they were able to find fall and winter clothing that allowed for sufficient movement and did not hinder their ability to fight. Even though the hell mouth in Cleveland was much smaller than the one in Sunnydale, Cleveland had a thriving vampire population. Buffy and Wesley patrolled every night. Because Cleveland was an unfamiliar city to Buffy, Wesley did not want her patrolling alone. It seemed that working with Angel had allowed Wesley to come into his own and Buffy was surprised and pleased with Wesley's fighting skills.

Buffy blossomed under Wesley's tutelage. She excelled in all areas of her training and her willingness to try new weapons and new techniques pleased her watcher very much. She researched eagerly much to his surprise and pleasure and his favorable reports to the Watchers' Council resulted in a letter of thanks from the Council head for both of them.

One day Wesley complimented her on her research skills and asked why she hadn't done research in Sunnydale. She replied without raising her head from the book she was reading, "Giles didn't need me to do research; he had Willow."

After seven months Buffy and Wesley had cleaned up Cleveland and sealed the Cleveland hell mouth. They no longer encountered vampires or demons on patrol. When they first arrived at their current assignment, they received police reports of suspicious deaths or suspected paranormal activity in Ohio and the surrounding states from the Watchers' Council. These reports soon dwindled and eventually stopped. Buffy wondered why Giles had not received these reports in Sunnydale while he still worked for the Council and if he did, why he hadn't shared the information with her. When she approached Wesley with this question he also had no answer.

'One of these days I am going to have a serious talk with Giles; there are a few questions that I would like to ask him and I think that he owes me some straight answers.'

The Council asked them to remain in Cleveland for another two months just in case and then to return to LA and assume it as their territory because, with the amount of demonic activity in LA, current resources were barely keeping it under control. It stopped short of suggesting that they should join Angel, but Buffy and Wesley could read between the lines.

"Buffy, what are your plans for after we return to LA?" Wesley asked one night while they were on patrol.

"You mean other than helping to clean up LA?"

"I mean have you considered enrolling at UCLA and continuing your college education?"

"I thought about it, but I didn't think you would approve."

"I whole heartedly approve and so does the Council. In fact the Council thinks it's a good idea."

"They do?"

"They considered how long you've been a slayer, the quality of work you've done in Sunnydale and in Cleveland and the fact that there are two slayers now and decided that you should have a life outside of slaying. What do you think?"

"I think absolutely."

Part 5

"Another outing with no activity; I'm going to get rusty," Buffy said as they returned home one night. "Why don't we expand our patrol to include cemeteries in towns around Cleveland?"

"We can do that," Wesley told her, "but I don't think we'll find anything. Without the pull from the hell mouth, evil is just not attracted to this area anymore."

After two weeks with no activity they gave up the expanded patrol route and restricted themselves to Cleveland before packing up their belongings and heading to Los Angeles.

Part 6

In LA

It was now early spring and Wesley had been in Cleveland working with Buffy as her watcher for a little over nine months. Cordelia was bored and although she would never admit it out loud she would admit it to herself – she missed him.

"Has anybody heard from Wesley," she asked before she remembered she was alone. Gunn and Fred had gone out to get food and Angel was sleeping. "Gods I miss him," she said out loud to nobody.

"Who?" Lorne asked and Cordelia nearly jumped out of her chair.

"I was just talking to myself and don't sneak up on me like that," she complained.

"You didn't answer my question, Cordykins," Lorne said, ignoring her outburst. "Who is it that you miss so much?"

"You know who," she said dejectedly.

"Why don't you call him?"

"He might be busy with Buffy, you know training or researching or something."

"Or he might not," came a voice from the doorway.

"Wesley!" Cordelia ran into Wesley's open arms. "I missed you so much." She hugged him. "Did you miss me?" She asked nervously.

"How could I not," he said and kissed her.

The kiss surprised her, but pleased her, too.

"Well it's about time you got your butt back here," Gunn said as he and Fred walked through the door; "we thought we were going to have to have Cordy committed," he said with a teasing grin on his face.

"Or at least sedated," Fred added

"I wasn't that bad," Cordy protested.

"Yes, you were." Angel's voice came down the stairs.

He greeted Wesley with a handshake. "Good to have you back. Where's Buffy?"

"We had the cab driver drop her off at her father's house before bringing me here."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine, Angel, why don't you give her a call?"

"No," Angel said a little too quickly, "I was just asking if she was okay." He turned and walked into his office as Fred and Gunn shared a knowing look with Cordelia.

Part 7

In Sunnydale

Things between Giles and Willow continued to deteriorate. Now that Willow was this hot shot slayer she was more into partying than killing vampires. It seemed that the spell that she used on Faith stole more than just her slayer strength, it took some of Faith's other traits as well, such as her love for partying and her independent streak.

Giles found Willow to be lax about training and patrolling; she insisted on creating spell after spell to kill the vampires instead of staking them. Some of the spells worked and some didn't and on more than one occasion, according to Xander, she narrowly missed getting injured.

She had long ago forbid Xander from telling Giles that she went patrolling without a stake depending upon her magic, but now Xander was really worried. On yet another night when Willow had skipped patrolling and gone to Bronze, he went to Giles' house to once again voice his concerns.

"I don't know what to do, Xander. She and I are not under Council control and reasoning with her doesn't seem to work. I thought Buffy was difficult, but Willow is worse. She refuses to train and the rise in deaths in Sunnydale would suggest that she also does not do sufficient patrolling."

"She doesn't. Buffy used to patrol every night. Willow rarely patrols. I'm glad that she is a slayer; I just wish she'd act more like one. I know it's a terrible thing to say about Will, but she seems to have picked up Faith's party gene; at least Faith patrolled every night. Willow parties every night, she sleeps all day, she doesn't train and she rarely patrols. What's wrong with her Giles?"

"I wish I knew, Xander."

Part 8

Then one night when Willow and Xander were on patrol they ran into serious trouble; they encountered an unusually strong vampire and Willow's spells didn't work. "What's a witch doing out here at night," he demanded, "and where's the slayer?"

"I'm the slayer," Willow protested hotly.

"I don't know what you think you are, but I know a slayer when I see one, and you're not a slayer. You look more to me like dinner," the vampire said as he lunged at Willow.

The fight was over almost as soon as it began. Willow was badly injured but was saved by Xander who fortunately carried a stake which he buried in the vampire's back as it bent over Willow. Xander hurriedly fumbled for his cell phone and dialed 911; he was nervous about being in a cemetery with a disabled slayer, but he stayed with Willow until the ambulance and police arrived. He called Giles from the hospital.

Willow's prognosis did not look good. She was disabled with head and neck injuries, a broken spine, cracked ribs and internal bleeding, she was completely paralyzed and could not speak, and she did not heal as a slayer should since she really was not a true slayer.

Giles and the others were worried. Why wasn't she healing? Some of the less serious injuries should have improved by now. Xander told Giles what the vampire had said before he and Willow fought. Combining that with what Buffy had tried to tell Giles on the morning that the two of them had turned against her brought a grim realization to them both.

"Giles, do you think it is possible that what Buffy tried to tell us about Faith's death is true? Is it possible that Willow isn't a true slayer?"

"I don't know, Xander. I really don't know, but if it is true, then we … I… have done Buffy a grave disservice."

"Well I don't believe it for a minute. Buffy is just what I said she was and Willow isn't guilty of anything."

In his heart at that moment Giles wasn't so sure.

Part 9

In LA

Buffy enrolled at UCLA where she excelled in Art and was certain that her mother would be proud of her. Since she had not heard from anyone in Sunnydale since Giles sent her to Cleveland she assumed that Willow was performing well in her duties as a slayer.

In Sunnydale

After it was obvious that Willow was not going to get better, Giles sent Xander to Cleveland to find Buffy and bring her back to Sunnydale. When Buffy was not there, Giles assumed that she has been killed. He contacted the Council to tell them that Buffy was dead. They simply told him that a new slayer was called and was now in the Orient (they did not say when the new slayer was called) and that since Buffy had done such a good job of cleaning up Sunnydale, it no longer needed a resident slayer; also since Giles was fired by the council years before, they did not want further communication with him.

When Xander and Anya questioned Giles about Willow's failure to show any improvement after being hospitalized for eight weeks, he admitted he was puzzled about it and without the resources of the Council he was at a loss as to what he could do.

Willow's parents came to get her and took her out of the country with the hope that doctors abroad could help their daughter. They still did not know anything about vampires and slayers in Sunnydale and Giles opted not to tell them. The family never returned to Sunnydale.

Without a slayer Giles had no desire to remain in Sunnydale and decided to return to his home in London. Two weeks after Willow's parents came to get her, he left Sunnydale as well.

Part 10

The day that Giles left for London for some reason Xander decided to tell Angel that Buffy was dead; he left a voice mail message at AI for Angel to call him; the message said that he had some bad news. When Angel returned the call he had Wesley, Cordelia, Gunn, Fred and Buffy in his office and the phone was on speaker.

They could tell that Xander was angry by the way he spoke on the phone. "As I said in my message, I have some bad news; I also have some good news. The bad news is that Willow was injured on patrol two and a half months ago and is completely paralyzed and cannot speak. The good news is that that lying jealous bitch, Buffy, is dead in Cleveland and her body has not been found. I'm just sorry I don't get to tell you this to your dead stinking face." He laughed, a cold heartless sound, and hung up the phone.

Buffy and Angel looked at each other, hurt and sorrow radiating off them. Before anyone knew what was happening, including themselves, they were crying in each other's arms.

The two couples left the office quietly and closed the door giving them some privacy. "This is so awful," Cordelia said as her eyes filled with tears; Wesley held her as she cried.

Gunn was confused. "I don't understand; if Willow is a slayer, why haven't her slayer healing abilities kicked in? If she's not a slayer, what was she doing patrolling, especially on the hell mouth?"

"From what Buffy and I understand based on the information we had available to us and the report from the Council, Willow was not a slayer. We believe that using magic she somehow stole Faith's slayer strength but not the rest of her slayer powers and set Faith up to be killed by vampires. She then convinced Mr. Giles that she had been called knowing full well that Faith was dead; he accepted her word that she had been called and never reported her to the Council. It is also a possibility that Willow used magic on Mr. Giles to make him reject Buffy and choose her as his slayer, although we have no proof of that."

"Whatever happened to the shy nerdy genius that I knew in high school," Cordelia asked.

"Magic happened," Wesley said sadly. "Willow was not a trained witch; the magic that she knew she acquired on her own without proper training. When magic is used improperly, it can be very dangerous.

"I need to contact the Watchers' Council and let them know what has happened."

The Council informed Wesley that Giles had returned to London, they did not know of Willow's whereabouts and the new slayer was still needed at her current assignment.

When Buffy heard this, she went to Wesley with a recommendation that they include Sunnydale in their nightly patrols. Together she and Wesley set up a patrol schedule that covered LA and Sunnydale. They presented their plan first to the AI team who readily agreed and then to the Watchers' Council who was very pleased with their recommendation.

Part 11

Giles returned to London to an empty house and a lonely life. Olivia, his former girlfriend, was engaged to be married and, like Quentin Travers, his former friends at the Watchers' Council wanted nothing to do with him once they found out how he rejected his slayer for an imposter.

Anya decided that Xander and the money from the magic shop together were not enough to keep her in Sunnydale with no resident slayer. She soon returned to _D__'__Hoffryn __and __her __life __a_s _a __vengeance __demon__._

Without Anya, Willow and Giles for support, Xander resorted to alcohol, lost his construction job and the apartment that he shared with Anya and was killed by vampires one night when he lost his way in a drunken stupor and stumbled into the wrong alley.

Angel Investigations thrived becoming a full service investigations firm. In addition to continuing as Buffy's watcher Wesley headed up the day time operations along with Cordelia and Fred with Gunn helping out part-time. Angel led the nighttime operations with Buffy and Gunn part-time.

Angel and Buffy ran into Spike one night on patrol and couldn't get rid of him; he just kept showing up until Angel offered him a job. He jumped at it and became a productive member of the night crew.

Spike filled them in with what details he knew about the happenings in Sunnydale after Buffy left. The story was not pretty. Demons pretty much roamed free, unhindered because there was no one doing frequent patrols. He found out from Willy that Buffy was no longer the slayer on the hell mouth, but he didn't know why; none of the Scoobies would tell him what had happened to Buffy except that she was gone and would not be returning to Sunnydale. He told them about the departure of Giles and Anya and about Xander's death at the hands of vampires.

Buffy ran into Tara at UCLA and together they grieved over the loss of their Sunnydale friends. For the two of them nothing could replace the friends that they had lost, but they were comforted by having found each other again. After conferring with the rest of the AI team, Buffy invited Tara to join AI as their resident witch and Tara readily accepted.

Part 12

Buffy had played the last couple of months prior to her leaving Sunnydale over and over in her mind and she just could not let it go. In her mind Giles' actions were directly, or indirectly, the cause of the many deaths in Sunnydale after she left and what happened to Willow and Xander. She had to speak with Giles. 'I don't know if he'll want to talk to me, but I just have to know his reasons for what he did and maybe get some answers for the Council as well.'

Buffy, Wesley and Angel were in Angel's office discussing the details of the nighttime activities. Before the meeting ended, Buffy said, "I can't let this go, Wesley; I need to speak with Giles."

"All right, but be careful what you say to him. He's probably as upset about events in Sunnydale as you are. Maybe more."

"Okay, but would you two stay and listen to our conversation without letting him know that you are here?"

After getting agreement from the two males in the room, Buffy put her cell phone on speaker and dialed Giles' phone number in London. She did not want to use the office phone in case Giles could see 'Angel Investigations' on the Caller ID; she wasn't sure why she wanted to avoid that. She could feel the mounting tension as the phone rang. She spoke quietly when Giles answered the phone.

"Giles, it Buffy."

"Buffy? I thought you were dead."

"Where did you get that idea?"

"After Willow was injured, I sent Xander to Cleveland to fetch you. When he didn't find you, we assumed you were dead."

"Assumed or hoped?"

"Good lord, Buffy, I never wanted you dead."

"So what was sending me to Cleveland supposed to accomplish? Get me out of the way? Get rid of the source of your headache and disappointment?" Realizing that she was already getting upset, Buffy apologized. "I'm sorry; that's really not why I called. I called because I need to get the answers to some questions and you are the only person left that can answer them."

"What about Xander and Anya?"

"As I understand it Anya has returned to being a vengeance demon and Xander was killed by vampires less than a month after you left. His body was found in an alley behind some bar in Sunnydale."

At first Giles didn't answer. Buffy could hear his long loud sighing. "So, we see what happened to your Scooby gang."

"Is that all you can say? And whose fault is that anyway?"

"Are you suggesting that I …"

"I'm not suggesting it, Giles, I'm telling you."

After another long pause, Giles asked, "Why did you call me, Buffy?"

"As I said I called because I need to get the answers to some questions and you are the only person left that can answer them, besides there is some outstanding information that the Council needs to know."

"So, you're working for the council again? How did this happen?"

Buffy cringed at his tone of voice. "My watcher works for the Council; so do I."

"You have a wa…, don't tell me – Wyndham-Pryce is your watcher."

"That's right."

"I should have known that you would go behind my back to him."

"Behind your back? You threw me out. Remember?"

After a long pause and without responding to her question, Giles asked, "What are your questions?"

"First of all, why were you so dead set against Faith from the moment she was released from the hospital? She hadn't done anything to you, why did you hate her so much?"

"She tried to kill Willow."

"Giles, that was two years before and besides she admitted that she had been out of control then and apologized to each one of us for her actions and asked for forgiveness. How much more could she have done? Without her help, I seriously doubt that we would have been successful in defeating Glorificus."

"SHE TRIED TO KILL WILLOW," Giles said again, more forcefully, almost shouting. "That is not something that I could readily forgive."

Buffy could see that his mind was made up and no matter what she said she was not going to be able to make him see things differently; she knew that further discussion was futile so she changed the subject. "All right, let's go on to something else. How did you find out that Willow had been called?"

"She called me on the phone that morning and told me something had happened and I should get over to your house right away. She told me when I got there, just before I called you at work."

"Didn't it seem odd to you that Willow knew that she had been called before her watcher knew, before the Watchers' Council knew?"

"Not at the time, no. I was so happy that Willow was a slayer I didn't think it was odd at all."

"Why didn't you contact the Council when you first thought she had been called?"

"This was an opportunity to have the kind of slayer that I always wanted. The Council has always given me a hard time; they had already fired me. I couldn't let them know about Willow; they would have taken her away from me and given her to another watcher. I couldn't let that happen."

"The Council didn't know about me until I was 15; I was called during the spring of the same year that I turned 15, but I didn't know I had been called until Merritt came up to me at Hemery High School and told me. I had been having the weird dreams, yes, but I wasn't just all of a sudden powerful overnight. My strength had to be developed. Didn't you think it was strange that Willow didn't have the slayer dreams before she was called, that she didn't have the mark of a slayer, and that she couldn't fight at all? She was strong yes, but after two months of being a slayer she still couldn't fight or run or use any of the weapons. She was strong and that's it."

"I did question her physical limitations myself, but without the Council I had no place to turn for support."

"Again, whose fault is that? I could have gone to the council; I'm still a slayer. You said yourself, you couldn't let them know about Willow."

"Yes, well, that's neither here nor there…"

"What is 'here' is that you were too anxious to get rid of me. I guess you were within your right as my watcher to send me to Cleveland, but why did you have to be so cruel about it and why couldn't you wait until you were sure that Willow was capable of handling the responsibilities of a slayer on the Sunnydale hell mouth?"

"I don't know, Buffy. I know that my actions were very harsh and that my treatment of you was unjustified. I behaved badly; I know that. My actions caused the deaths of many in Sunnydale, including Xander, and I am directly responsible for the condition that poor Willow is in. I can only hope that wherever they are her parents can find some help for her. This shall play on my conscience for the rest of my life."

Buffy gave a long sad sigh trying hard to suppress the tears that filled her eyes. "I too hope that her parents can get some help for her. Giles, Spike was still in Sunnydale; why didn't you ask him to back up Willow on patrol until you felt she was ready to go it alone?"

"Xander was Willow's backup. Besides I didn't want that bloodsucking fiend anywhere near Willow. I didn't want his help any more than I would've wanted Angel's help. The two of them only stayed around because of you. I was happy to be rid of both of them; I would have been happier if they both were dust."

Buffy shivered at the coldness in Giles' voice and he could tell that she was choking back the tears when she spoke again. "I'm sorry, Giles; I have to go now. I can't talk anymore."

"Take care of yourself, Buffy. I'm glad that you're still alive. Perhaps it would be best if you did not call again. Goodbye, Buffy."

He hung up the phone and Buffy sat there unmoving seemingly unaware that the telephone connection had been broken.

"Goodbye, Giles," she said to no one in particular as she burst into uncontrollable sobs. Wesley picked up the phone and closed it and Angel held her until she stopped crying.

"I feel worse than before. I don't know what I expected to accomplish by speaking with Giles."

"Well we know that Mr. Giles regrets his actions; that's a good thing."

Angel agreed with Wesley, "And we know that he was acting on his own accord, that Willow did not use magic on him to make him reject you."

"He sounded so bitter. Why does he hate you and Spike so much?"

"I don't know, Buffy; he wasn't like that in the beginning. Before I left Sunnydale I thought that we were on fairly good terms and that he had forgiven me for his torture at the hands of Angelus. Listening to him talk, I can see that he has not. I guess it's a combination of things that caused his current hatred for us. We may never know for sure."

Part 13

Life in Sunnydale slowly returned to normal when the local baddies realized that the slayer was back in town. Although it took longer and much more effort they were eventually able to close and seal the Sunnydale hell mouth the same way they did the one in Cleveland. The Council sent a dozen well trained watchers/fighters to assist in the final battle that ended with the closing. Wesley was among those injured and spent almost a month in the hospital. With this scare Cordelia insisted that they were getting married as soon as he was released. They did.

Angel Investigations prospered and they were able to hire additional employees for both the daytime and nighttime staffs including two members of Gunn's old crew.

Buffy was the first to notice the sparks between Spike and Tara. "I never thought I would say this," she told Angel, "but I would not be surprised if she replaced Drusilla as the object of his affections."

"I think it would be good for both of them."

"So do I."

Angel proposed to Buffy at the party thrown to celebrate her graduation from college; she accepted. They were married three months later and went to Ireland for their honeymoon. Tara and Spike were an official couple when they returned.

At age thirty after being a slayer for fifteen years Buffy was officially retired by the Watchers' Council. She and her new family at Angel Investigations lived long and productive lives, but she could never forget the family and friends that she had lost. She refused to dwell on their last year together. She would always remember Giles for his fatherly guidance and support, Willow for being the first real friend that she ever had, Xander for his friendship and loyalty, and Anya for her open honesty. Last, but not least, she would remember Faith, her sister slayer, who was just beginning to turn her life around, when it was taken from her. When Buffy remembered her she couldn't help but think, 'Wherever you are, Faith, I hope you have found the happiness and friendships that you did not find here'.

The end.


End file.
